very nice champagne there, though. You might like to try just one glass.’
‘I’m not a risk-taker.’ Definitely not around this man.
‘Yet today you’ve trespassed on private property and are now going to a party in a borrowed designer dress with a man you barely know.’
‘In a Ferrari, no less.’ She nodded solemnly and braced herself for his no doubt reckless driving skills. ‘Most adventurous evening of my life so far.’
‘That’s...’ He glanced at her, but his brows lifted and he didn’t finish his comment. ‘Why don’t you take risks?’
Because she’d always had to hold back. Always been on the alert from years of conditioning, of watching over her shoulder and being cautious. But she had her safety plan figured out—she knew who Rafael was and Alex would call her in the morning if she didn’t look in on him. And the imp in her wanted to have fun for once. It would be an experience.
‘I struggle to open up and trust people.’ She stared, amazed as Rafael began to laugh.
‘Don’t look like that!’ She mock-punched his arm. ‘I’m serious. What you’re seeing is the new me. Opening up and delivering one hundred percent honesty. It’s liberating.’ She smiled.
‘The new you,’ he said, his smile not gone. ‘One hundred percent honesty one hundred percent of the time?’
‘Absolutely,’ she said fervently.
He roared with laughter this time. ‘No one is that honest.’
‘I am.’
‘Definitely not you.’
‘I am,’ she said indignantly.
‘Really? Could you be honest with someone even if you knew it was going to hurt them?’ he asked. ‘Isn’t it better to play it safe sometimes and protect someone’s feelings?’
That this guy thought about protecting someone’s feelings surprised her. ‘You’d actually protect another person’s feelings?’
‘Sure.’
So had he lied to her about how her dress looked? She just knew he had. ‘I bet you send flowers and jewels when you leave your lovers.’
‘That’s not generally a good idea,’ he said. ‘I prefer to leave them breathless.’
‘Oh, please.’ She rolled her eyes.
‘Well, you’re absolutely the kind of person who cares about someone else’s feelings, Ms I’ll-Water-the-Roses-for-the-Old-Guy.’
‘You say that like it’s not a compliment.’
He laughed again.
‘Not being honest hurts people more,’ she said with soft passion. ‘Because in the end the truth does always come out.’
He shook his head. ‘You’re so wrong. People lie and get away with it every day. Not just murderers. Cheats. Thieves. Everyday white lies as well.’
‘But it eats them up inside,’ she said softly. ‘Sure, you may never know that someone has lied to you, but the liar knows. And the liar suffers for it. Even if they think they don’t, they do. They’re weakened. Each lie breaks them down piece by piece.’
His gaze intensified on her. ‘Told a lot of lies in your lifetime?’
She held his gaze and her smile twisted. ‘More than you’d ever believe.’
And she’d been weakened by every one.
‘YOU’VE LIED YOUR head off your whole life?’ Rafe didn’t believe her. But he was drawn in by the shadows flickering in her eyes. ‘Why so many lies?’
‘For protection, as you suggested. But it still does damage and I refuse to lie any more.’ She squared her shoulders and smiled. But it wasn’t the bubbly smile he’d seen earlier when she’d been amongst the roses and he wondered if she was actually serious.
‘I’m like you,’ she said. ‘Upfront about what I want out of my life. What I will accept, and what I won’t.’
‘What makes you think I’m upfront about what I want from my life?’ How did she think she knew anything about him?
‘You’re decisive and take action to get what you want. The fact that I’m sitting in your car right now is a perfect example of your determination.’
Good point. He was used to getting his way, though honestly he’d not been certain she’d agree to attend the party with him. Even now he wouldn’t be surprised if she slipped away once they arrived at the palazzo. He’d have to keep her occupied.
‘But if this is the “new you”, then you’re getting what you want as well,’ he teased.
He’d been absurdly satisfied when she’d said yes, but it had been his first victory of a less than stellar day and he’d take it.
‘Once I’d had the time to process your...invitation, I realised it could be an interesting experience.’ She nodded primly, but the effect was ruined when an effervescent smile lit up her face. ‘Not one I’m likely to repeat.’
True, though why the fact should give him a twinge, he didn’t know. He’d been feeling off all day. He’d deliberately not visited the Villa Rosetta until the refurbishment was complete, but while he could appreciate its beauty and value, there’d not been the pleasure of getting what he’d wanted for so long.
Fool. What had he expected? The decades-old promise that the villa represented had never been fulfilled and never could be. His father, Roland, was long since dead. And that finality left an unusual melancholy just beneath his skin.
So not Rafe. He never wasted time looking backwards, he pushed forward, making headway against the resistance he was accustomed to. He pushed harder than anyone because he’d always had to. Illegitimate, unwanted heir that he was. Securing the villa should have been a pinnacle moment but it was larger than he’d realised. Its vastness screamed out for more people to be living in it. For the family he’d never had.
Fool. He wasn’t eight years old and full of fairy-tale dreams for a loving family now.
The woman wandering about the grounds had been a welcome distraction. He’d watched from the villa, initially outraged at her blithe trespassing. But he’d grown increasingly intrigued as she’d strolled through the roses with that smile lighting up her face.
‘The fireworks are supposed to be spectacular,’ she said as she waited for him to start the car. ‘You’re promising me all the fireworks, right?’
He glanced at her profile—had she really meant that as innocently as it had sounded? She turned to look at him fully, her expression
